whatcha readin'? {goal 48 - books 21 to 25)

Happy long weekend to all!
I hope it was full of family, fun, food and love…
and I hope you got out to see the
beauty of fall for some of it.
Those colors!
Never fails to amaze me.
🍂🍁🪾🥬🌿🍁🍃

*** I don’t think there are any spoilers below
but please proceed with caution….***

But…on to the books!
Here is a short summary of 5 more books
that I have read so far:

21. THE CALAMITY CLUB - Kathryn Stockett
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ out of 5 ❤️’s {June)

direct from my notes:
Oh, this book!
I was enthralled.
At first, I found it dense and I was confused
by who was who and what the connections were
but once I got into it, I was IN.
I could not put it down.
I loved the characters that I loved
but oh, how I HATED the characters I hated.
It was a great story that was both funny and
frustrating as all eff
and I was
shocked
by the afterword at the end.
*I will also add that she also
wrote The Help, which I also loved.
(and yes, the book is in the photo below
but also….let’s take a moment to collectively
drool over that stuffed ice cream cone….)

22. THE ARMOR OF LIGHT - Ken Follett
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️out of 5 ❤️’s {July}

This is a follow up but also standalone book
from the Pillars of the Earth trilogy.
You do not have to have read the trilogy
to understand this story, some of the characters
are mentioned briefly which I liked
as I LOVED the trilogy.
This was soooo good, I literally ate it up in days…
and it was a thick book. 😊
I loved Sal and Kit.
I was rooting for so many people
(& also rooting for the downfall of others).

23. THE DUKE & I - Julia Quinn
❤️❤️❤️❤️out of 5 ❤️’s {July}

I had already watched the series
so had a pretty good idea of the story already
but I did enjoy this
and plan to read the rest
without guilt. 🤫

24. STARDUST - Neil Gaiman
💙💙💙💙💙 out of 5 💙’s (blue = re-read) {July}

I loved this book
the first time I read it
and it had been such a long time since I read it last
that I had forgotten most of it,
so it was like reading it all over again….
which I loved.  :)
Besides, you can’t go wrong with Neil Gaiman,
even Finnegan agrees.

25. MOTHER MARY COMES TO ME - Arundhati Roy
❤️❤️❤️❤️ out of 5 ❤️’s {July}

Direct from my notes after reading:
I was a little hesitant starting this book when I realized that was about the loss of her mother but then realized it was a much more complex, strained relationship than my own.  And also that a great deal of the book would focus on the politics, war, and horrors of her country…those parts of the book were so much harder to read.  How can humans be so awful and cruel and barbaric?  It is astounding.  But then I got to the last chapter where she lost her mother and I sat in the hot sun on the deck in my pink striped pj short set and cried.  :(

And that brings me closer to the goal…
I am currently at 34 of 48
but behind on sharing, as always.

whatcha readin'? {goal 48 - books 17 to 20)

A little bit of a book dump📖
today because I am definitely
further along then 17 so thought
I would share up to #20 to catch up a little…

17. THE WIFE - MEG WOLITZER
❤️❤️❤️ out of 5 ❤️’s

So I think I picked this one up
in a book sale somewhere…
definitely a second hand pick.
I struggled a little with the high acclaim it had
because I found it a little slow moving…
and not really surprising
as far as plot twists go.
I am curious about the movie though…
what a great cast!

18. REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES -
SHELBY VAN PELT
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Now this one I loved.
I loved this story,
especially the POV of the octopus.
And Tova’s stubbornness and
independence,
which, not gonna lie,
I can kinda relate to.
I felt like I could see the answer early
but was also not sure that it was
even meant to be hidden.

I watched the Netflix adaptation
and I love Sally Field in anything…
the movie was good on it’s own
but I definitely preferred the book.

19. THE BACKYARD BIRD CHRONICLES -
AMY TAN
💛💛💛out of 5 (yellow is non-fiction)

I wanted to love this, I really did.
And I did love it in the beginning but
I think that maybe I read it wrong.
I had it as a virtual copy and read it
all as one book
but in hindsight, I wish I had the paper copy
and that I had just picked it up
here and there…
I think I would have appreciated it more
especially since it is laid out in short essays
with drawings.
But I did enjoy it & don’t regret getting this one.
Also, I love Amy Tan’s fiction books.

20. HELD - ANNE MICHAELS
❤️❤️❤️❤️

I was not prepared to like this book
as much as I did.
I was very confused in the beginning
as to what was happening but eventually
caught on….
the writing was beautiful.
This book made me feel quiet
and wordy. and slow.
in a good way.

“I missed her more than ever this time. Everywhere we were made me think of her. I almost thought I’d see her if I turned my head.” He was fully awake now. “Sometimes I think I see her too,” Peter said, “out of the corner of my eye, if you can see a feeling.”

“Yes, I think you can.”

If you can see a feeling.
That line.
That line. 💔

That takes me to almost the
end of June…
and I finished my 30th book yesterday
so getting closer to the goal.
I have to read 18 more to hit it
and 11 of that 18 have to be off my
26 in 2026 list.

Yes. I do this to myself.
On purpose.
🤭